“I believe in myself” - Erling Haaland rates his chances in Ballon d'Or race with Lionel Messi
Manchester City attacker Erling Haaland believes he is in with a chance to win the 2023 Ballon d'Or ahead of Lionel Messi. The two players are the outright favorites to win the award this year.
Haaland had a stellar campaign with the Cityzens last term. His 52 goals were pivotal to Pep Guardiola's side winning the European treble in the 2022-23 season. Messi, meanwhile, scored 20 goals and provided 21 assists for Paris Saint-Germain and helped Argentina win the World Cup, playing a starring role. He also won the Golden Ball for his stellar performances in the tournament in Qatar.
Speaking about his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or this year, Haaland told France Football (via French Football Weekly):
"I believe in myself, I really do. I know I can still improve a lot, I’m still young. But yes, I think I have a chance this year.”
Fans are divided in their opinion of who between Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland should win the individual honor this year. France Football will announce the result on October 30.
Messi is aiming for a record-extending eighth while Haaland is chasing the trophy for the first time.
Frank Leboeuf thinks Julian Alvarez should win the Ballon d'Or ahead of Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi
While Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi are the two favorites to win the Ballon d'Or this year, former France international Frank Leboeuf thinks Manchester City's Julian Alvarez should win it.
His reasoning is that Alvarez is the only player to win the treble with Manchester City as well as the FIFA World Cup with Argentina. Speaking on the matter, Leboeuf said (via Essentiallysports):
"If we give the award to the player because of what he won, or how many goals he scored – I’m sorry, there is one guy who made the quadruple. He did what Messi and Haaland did, but he did all of it in one – World Cup, Premier League, League Cup & UEFA Champions League. His name is Alvarez and he’s from Argentina.”
Leboeuf, though, thinks that Alvarez will not win the prize as he said:
"Of course, nobody cares about him because politically he’s not interesting to anybody.”
While there are also other strong contenders like Kylian Mbappe, one of Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi is expected to bag the Ballon d'Or this year.